Jared Deck with Mike Vial

Jared Deck grew up on a dusty Oklahoma family farm and worked various jobs before honing his musical skills as a pianist in a Black church during the Great Recession. His song “The American Dream” took first place at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival songwriting contest.

Mike Vial, a singer-songwriter and educator from Ann Arbor, has won awards at the Ypsilanti Songwriting Festival and the Blue Owl Songwriting Festival. He teaches at Community High School. Both artists performed their original songs during the evening.